Congo Serpent-Eagle

SCI Name:  Dryotriorchis spectabilis
Protonym:  Astur spectabilis Nederl.Tijdschr.Dierk. 1 p.131 pl.6
Taxonomy:  Accipitriformes / Accipitridae / Dryotriorchis
Taxonomy Code:  coseag1
Type Locality:  St. George Elmina, Gold Coast.
Author:  Schlegel
Publish Year:  1863
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

DRYOTRIORCHIS
(Accipitridae; Ϯ Congo Serpent Eagle D. spectabilis) Gr. δρυς drus, δρυος druos  tree; τριορχης triorkhēs  hawk, buzzard  < τρεις treis, τρια tria  three; ορχις orkhis  testicle (see Triorchis); "I RECEIVED in one of my last consignments from the interior of Fantee an adult specimen of the Astur spectabilis of Schlegel, which seems to indicate to me that we have hitherto been mistaken in referring this bird to the Goshawks, and that it is in fact an Aquiline form, with tarsi reticulated both before and behind.  Mr. Sharpe has examined the bird with me, and agrees that it cannot be placed in any existing genus. I therefore propose to make a new one for its reception as follows: — DRYOTRIORCHIS, gen. nov.*  Type D. spectabilis (Schl.); Astur spectabilis, Schl. Ned. Tijdschr. Dierk. i. p. 13, pl. 6.  This new genus is allied to Circaëtus, from which it differs in its short wing and long tail. The latter is nearly as long as the wing itself, the difference between them being less than the length of the tarsus. It differs from Herpetotheres, in which Prof. Schlegel was inclined to place it, in its oval nostrils, and from Spilornis in its lanceolate crest as well as the proportions of the wing and tail.  ...  *δρυς, quercus, et τριορχης, accipiter." (Shelley 1874); "Dryotriorchis Shelley, Ibis, 1874, p. 90.  Type by original designation, Astur spectabilis Schleg." (W. Sclater, 1924, Syst. Av. Aethiop., I, p. 62).

spectabilis
L. spectabilis  remarkable, showy  < spectare  to observe  < specere  to look at.
● "61. ANAS.  ...  spectabilis.  4. A. rostro basi gibbo compresso: carina pennacea nigra, capite canescente. Mus. Ad. Fr. 2. p.  Anas canadensis, capite griseo cæruleo. Edw. av. 154. t. 154.  Habitat in Canada, Svecia." (Linnaeus 1758) (Somateria).

SUBSPECIES

Congo Serpent-Eagle (spectabilis)
SCI Name: Dryotriorchis spectabilis spectabilis
spectabilis
L. spectabilis  remarkable, showy  < spectare  to observe  < specere  to look at.
● "61. ANAS.  ...  spectabilis.  4. A. rostro basi gibbo compresso: carina pennacea nigra, capite canescente. Mus. Ad. Fr. 2. p.  Anas canadensis, capite griseo cæruleo. Edw. av. 154. t. 154.  Habitat in Canada, Svecia." (Linnaeus 1758) (Somateria).

Congo Serpent-Eagle (batesi)
SCI Name: Dryotriorchis spectabilis batesi
batesi / batesiana
● George Latimer Bates (1863-1940) US planter, ornithologist, collector in Gabon, French Congo and the Cameroons 1895-1928 (syn. Accipiter erythropus, syn. Alcedo leucogaster, Apus, subsp. Aviceda cuculoides, syn. Baeopogon indicator, syn. Batis minor erlangeri, syn. Campethera punctuligera, syn. Canirallus oculeus, Caprimulgus, subsp. Chlorophoneus multicolor, Cinnyris, syn. Dendropicos obsoletus, subsp. Dryotriorchis spectabilis, syn. Euplectes axillaris bocagei, subsp. Geokichla princei, syn. Hieraaetus ayresii, subsp. Iduna natalensis, subsp. Illadopsis cleaveri, syn. Lanius meridionalis elegans, syn. Merops muelleri, subsp. Mirafra africana, syn. Muscicapa sethsmithi, subsp. Oreocossypha isabellae, Ploceus, syn. Sarothrura pulchra, syn. Spizaetus africanus, syn. Sylvietta denti, Terpsiphone, syn. Urotriorchis macrourus).
● Henry Walter Bates (1825-1892) English naturalist, entomologist who developed the theory of Batesian mimicry, explorer and collector in Amazonia 1848-1859 (subsp. Melidectes ochromelas).